The Academy Awards 1932-1933

Now that Academy Award season is approaching I'll be continuing my Oscar series where I left off earlier this year. So if you're ready let's take a look at the Academy Award winners, nominees and snubs for 1932-33.

BEST PICTURE:

Winner: Cavalcade, Nominees: A Farewell to Arms, 42nd Street, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry the VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin Through, State Fair

ACTOR:

Winner: Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry the VIII, Nominees: Leslie Howard in Berkeley Square, Paul Muni in I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang

ACTRESS:

Winner: Katherine Hepburn in Morning Glory, Nominees: May Robson in Lady for a Day, Diana Wynyard in Cavalcade

BEST DIRECTOR:

Winner: Frank Lloyd for Cavalcade, Nominees: Frank Capra for Lady for a Day, George Cukor for Little Women

OSCAR SNUBS and OMISSIONS:

Alexander Korda for Directing The Private Life of Henry VIII
Ernst Lubitsch for Directing Trouble in Paradise
Ann Harding for her performance in The Animal Kingdom *un-nominated
Barbara Stanwyck for her role in Baby Face
Warner Baxter for his performance in 42nd Street
Fredric March for his performance in The Eagle and the Hawk
Mae West for her performance as Diamond Lil in She Done Him Wrong
The Marx Bro's for their screenplay Duck Soup
Laurel and Hardy for Son of the Desert
Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper for A Farewell to Arms
Greta Garbo for her performance in Queen Christina

FILM SNUBS:

Gold Diggers of 1933, Footlight Parade, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Bitter Tea of General Yen, Dinner at Eight, Duck Soup, King Kong, Queen Christina and Red Dust.

My Honorable Mentions go to:

The highly entertaining screenplay by the Marx Bro's, Duck Soup

Helen Hayes for her performance in A Farewell to Arms

and Claude Rains for his chilling performance in H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man

OSCAR TRIVIA:

There was no award ceremony in 1933. The Oscars for 1932-33 were presented in March, 1934 at the Ambassador Hotel (A full 17 month period) This would be the last time the Academy voted on films over one full calendar year. Going forward the Awards would be voted on and given out annually.

Although a young 24 yr old Katherine Hepburn won her first Oscar for her performance in Morning Glory playing stage struck Eva Lovelace, it was an unpopular choice at the time. However, this would be the film that launched her very successful career, prompting eight more nominations and losses before winning her second Oscar 30 years later for her performance in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967.  Her two most shocking losses were for her performances in The African Queen and The Philadelphia Story.

Charles Laughton won his Best Actor Oscar for his first nomination, also the first British Actor to win an Oscar in a Foreign/British film. It would also be the first non-Hollywood (Foreign) film to be nominated for Best Picture. The part of Ann of Cleves was played by Laughton's real life wife, Elsa Lancaster. The character King Henry VIII has also been recognized by the Academy more than any other historical/literary figure. Robert Shaw was nominated for playing King Henry the VIII for A Man for all Seasons in 1966 then Richard Burton was nominated for playing the same character for Anne of the Thousand Days in 1966.

Let's dish about Cavalcade for a moment. A look at British life over 30 years, it was over produced and ranks among other Best Picture winners as easily forgotten. The adapted screenplay by noted playwright, Noel Coward, with it's all British cast giving us a glimpse into the lives of well-to-do Londoner's and the affects on their lives during Wartime, the loss of a son on the Titanic and the death of Queen Victoria. The lead roles being played by Diana Wynyard and Clive Brooks. Diana Wynyard, primarily a British stage actress, made her film debut just one year before, starring in Rasputin and the Empress 1932 (Rasputin is best known as the only film to feature all three of the Barrymore siblings).  Frank Lloyd won for Best Director and it would be his last win of two. He also won the Best Director Oscar for "The Divine Lady in 1929.  The film had major box office success and was re-leased in 1935 after it's three Oscar wins. It also won for Best Art Direction/Decoration and it was nominated for a fourth.  (I'm curious to see what everyone else thought of this film)

Frank Capra's comedy, Lady for a Day was nominated for four Oscars but garnered no wins. During the Academy Award ceremony it did cause embarrassment for Frank Capra when emcee, Will Rogers yelled out "Come up and get it Frank", prompting Capra to leap to his feet and run towards the stage only to discover the award actually went to Frank Lloyd.

George Cukor's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was nominated for three awards and won only one, Best Adaptation. None of the leads were nominated which seems a bit odd looking back at the wonderful performances by Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas and Edna May Oliver. Perhaps since Kate Hepburn gave such a great performance in the lead as Jo, her win was an accumulation of her four performances on screen during that 17 months.  She would also appear in two other films during that time, the first being her film debut in 1932, A Bill of Divorcement starring the great John Barrymore and the equally talented Billie Burke.

Walt Disney would win his second consecutive Academy Award in the Technical Short Subject category for the cartoon, The Three Little Pigs. The cartoon that would bring us the very popular song Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.  When Walt took the stage to give his acceptance speech he referred to the award as 'Oscar' for the very first time but the Academy wouldn't officially refer to the statuette as Oscar until 1939.

The category "Special Visual Effects" had not been introduced yet which would most likely have garnered King Kong at least one award. I'll give it an honorable mention here for it's groundbreaking special effects, changing the way films were made going forward.

An honorable mention to King Kong for it's groundbreaking special effects.

I hope you enjoyed my look back at the Academy Awards for 1932-1933. I'll be continuing the series up until the award ceremony in 2012 so stay tuned.  Please enjoy the clip below of all of the 1932-1933 Award Winners. And please comment on what you think of the snubs, my choices as well as letting us know your own opinion about who won and whether your favorite was left out.

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All posters are from the Movie Poster Database which can be located HERE.

Happy Veterans Day!

Myrna Loy, Joan Blondell and her husband Dick Powell signing autographs for the troops.

Today we remember our Veteran's who have served our country with honor through the years. Yes, most of you might not know this but I did serve in the Navy throughout the 90's. I salute my fellow Veteran's as well as my father who served in the United States Navy with pride and he still serves today but in a different capacity. As a member of the Patriot Guards he travels to fallen soldiers and Veteran's funerals to provide security and to show his loyalty and honor for those who we've lost.  I also have a brother in law who is currently active duty in the USMC.  

I salute my family as well as everyone serving and who have served our great country in a time of war and during peacetime. 

May peace be with you today and every day. Words cannot express my gratitude.

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Quiet On The Set!

It's time to check back in with our hard working stars to see what they were up to between movie scenes.

Ann Sheridan who's very focused on studying her lines.

Betty Grable who looks just fabulous in her hula skirt while taking a break.

Debbie Reynolds getting her lipstick touched up between scenes.

Marlene Dietrich giving the 'side eye' on the set of The Flame of New Orleans (1941)

Greer Garson who looks very smart in her checkered suit between takes. (Not going to touch the flat beret since it's a costume)

Lana Turner who seems to be enjoying being carted up a hill for her next scene.

Linda Darnell who looks stunning while having her hair touched up.

Paulette Goddard doesn't even have to get out of her warm bath between takes to get her hair touched up. (I hope there are plenty of bubbles since she has peering eyes)

Laurence Olivier and Betty Hutton catching up during a break.

Shelly Winters, who seems very happy to be getting a bit of direction.

Peter O'Toole and Elizabeth Taylor relaxing between scenes. (I would love to know what or who they were chatting about)

June Allyson and Dick Powell look over a script while relaxing in his dressing room.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to return for my series on stars in furs and fabulous hats then my next star bio.  (I'm working on a few other things but that will just have to remain a secret for now.)

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Halloween Chills: Where To Find Them.

I know I mentioned that I was going to do a Halloween post on Vampires and their evolution on film but once I did some research and discovered that not only have there been 266 Vampire films made since Nosferatu, I haven't seen about 90% of them. (Sorry Twilight kids, I'm going in a different direction!)  The one good thing that came out of my intentions was sitting down and watching a two hour special that ran on The History Channel recently about Prince Vlad Dracul III.

Moving forward I still wanted to do a Halloween post and since I saw Paranormal Activity 3 (which was going to be my one scary film during Halloween week) I had decided to discuss it but there was one problem. I didn't find the film scary and it was actually a big disappointment after seeing the first two in the series and loving both.  When you go into a film knowing it will be a prequel to the first two you expect answers and feeling like you can go back and watch the first two one day, having all of the missing puzzle pieces in place.  Not so! I just feel like I did after seeing the first season of LOST, well except that PA3 lacked decent writers, and a good plot.  Perhaps others will feel differently about it so I won't include any spoilers here.

Okay, I'm now running out of post ideas and it's October 29th but I found myself watching a Bravo special which showed the Top 15 Scarier Movie Moments.  Still wanting to find at least one scary film to watch over Halloween weekend, I paid close attention to the clips.  Three films in particular peeked my interest and they were at the top 5 of the scariest. Hmmm, do I dare watch any of these? I'm feeling pretty brave these days for some reason.

Now, I stay away from slasher films at all costs but the three films that caught my eye were "Maniac" (1980) which is about a serial killer who runs around New York on a murderous rampage.  The second film was "Frailty" (2001) which follows the story of two boys during the mid-70's after their crazy father starts getting orders from God to kill demon's.  The last one and the one at the top of the 'scariest film' list was "Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer" (1986)  Loosely based on real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas and his equally depraved sidekick Otis Toole.

Did I choose "Maniac" (looks terrifying)?

Frailty (which had an all star cast)

Or did I lose my mind completely and watch "Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer"?

So which of these super scary films did I decide to watch if any? First, let me say that I asked Nate from Forgotten Classic of Yesteryear his opinion since he watches a lot of scary movies and he had actually seen "Maniac" and "Henry".  To put it simply he said "I wouldn't watch any of them!"  Well, now I was even more intrigued so I went and read several reviews for "Henry" specifically.  When a reviewer writes things like "It made me physically ill", It's one of those things that once you've seen it, you can never un-see it", but the description that came up the most was "DISTURBING"!

I thought about it for at least 24 hours but in the end I watched both "Frailty" and "Henry". Dunn Dunn Dun. Now, let me just say that I've been reading books on True Crime for quite a few years and I enjoy all of the true crime show on television so "Henry" caught my interest for that reason. It was loosely based on serial killer Henry Lucas, as I stated earlier. My heart was racing before I even started the film and I honestly expected to have to turn it off within a couple of minutes.  I didn't and I actually watched the film twice. I know, I'm strange!  Perhaps graphic images don't bother me due to many years of working in the ER and being exposed to some very traumatic injuries. I know it sounds crass but eventually you get desensitized to it.  Of course patients don't jump out at you wielding machetes though. At least not in my experiences.

The lead is played by then unknown actor and Chicago native, Michael Rooker with Tom Towles playing Otis and Tracy Arnold playing the very flawed Becky, Otis's younger sister.  The film was written by Richard Fire and John McNaughton and Directed by McNaughton. Made on a shoe string budget of $100,000 in and around Chicago, it feels like a documentary, using the cinema verite style works very well for this film.  I'll give you my take on the film but fair warning, the film is not for the squeamish and the scenes are graphic. Also, this is not a snarky review.

The musical score is chilling and it fits, gives the viewer a warning that something really bad is going to happen.  And in the first few scenes we see dead bodies splayed out in water, in tall grass, different places all while Henry is shown driving around Chicago in his clunker of a car.  Even though we don't see Henry actually kill any of these people, it's understood that he's been very busy when not working his menial job or getting drunk on cheap beer in his seedy little walk up apartment.

Henry has no motive or pattern, he just kills at random which is why he was able to escape capture. A typical day in the Chicago streets.

Henry! You've passed this guy on the street day after day. He's worked on your car, chatted with you in line at the grocery store. You might even live next door to him right now.

You just don't know he's a monster because you've never had the misfortune of being in his path on that one night of the week that he feels the urge to kill.

While you and I spend our free time doing something like watching a movie or gardening, Henry spends his days stalking his future victims. (Her husband came outside so she lived a couple more days)

Sometimes it's as easy as driving along a lonely highway where an unsepecting hitchhiker falls into your lap.

Henry doesn't live alone. He lives in a cramped little apartment with Otis, a disgusting little creeper that he met in prison. Otis's little sister shows up after she leaves her abusive husband and little girl. She's damaged goods. I like her immediately but I feel very uncomfortable watching her brother make sexual advances towards her. 

This one makes my skin crawl and he's not even the psychotic serial killer!

Henry is emotionally dead after surviving a childhood of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his prostitute mother. His stint in prison was for killing her.  

As the film progresses we see Becky develop feelings for Henry, most likely because she's so flawed, terrorized by her brother and in need of protection but Henry isn't capable of reciprocating her feelings or sexual advances.  The film takes an even darker turn when the two guys pick up a couple of hookers and Henry, without provocation snaps both of their necks then dumps them both in a heap in the back of a filthy alley.  This sparks something in Otis who looks up to Henry.  He gets tips on how to avoid getting caught (they're both on probation after all) before finding a random motorist to shoot.  

In one scene the two wind up looking to buy a new television from a back alley salesman who winds up dead in the cruelest way.  

They acquire a video camera which sets up the most disturbing scene in the movie. After they break in to a families home, brutally killing the family after violating the wife (all while videotaping their horrific crime), they then play the murders back over and over from their couch at home.  

Not long after and a couple of murderous nights later, Henry walks in on a drunken Otis in the process of raping his sister. A fight ensues and Otis winds up dead.  There's a pretty gruesome scene where Henry dismembers Otis's body in the bathtub. (I'll save you the graphic images) 

Of course Becky, now on the run and completely traumatized takes off with Henry.  In a very sad scene she tells him she loves him then he responds with "I guess I love you too"

After an all night drive where Henry manages to make Becky feel safe by telling her they're headed to his sisters ranch in California where they will eventually send for her daughter, they wind up at an out of the way hotel. The next morning Henry is seen leaving alone. Eventually he stops on the side of a road.

Bone chilling music starts and we're left with this image as the film comes to an end.

I certainly understand why this film had an impact on so many. I wouldn't really categorize it as a horror film as much as a chilling thriller. In the style that it was filmed and with the very realistic killing scenes you feel like you're watching a week in the life of a serial killer.  That in itself will keep you awake at night, make you more cautious when going out alone but you'll always have that uneasiness knowing that there are serial killers just like Henry Lee Lucas walking the streets among us, killing at random.  To me THAT is what's so horrifying about this film.  

Fortunately, there was a 30 minute long interview with the director John McNaughton at the end of this copy. He talks about his style choices when making Henry as well as the casting process. When Michael Rooker came in to read for the part of Henry he was dressed in the brown coat over the blue work pants as he read for the part in character.  This startled the director a little bit but he knew immediately that Rooker was the right choice.  Also, he anticipated the film being made to go directly to VHS. It was after the film was shown at the Telluride film festival that he knew it would eventually get a theatrical release. (The film actually sat on a shelf and it wasn't released in cinemas until 1990.) McNaughton also discusses first hearing about the real life serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas and he does admit that the film is based loosely on his life after meeting up with Otis Toole. 

I'm really not sure if I should recommend this film or not for those who enjoy good thrillers because you might be one of those people who is truly traumatized and scarred by this film.  I wasn't and I'm one of the biggest scaredy cats on the planet.  All in all, I tested myself this Halloween after a wasted few hours trying to get a good scare from Paranormal Activity 3 then searching for a good film.  I'm already looking forward to next year. Going to go set my house alarm now. 

Oh, and I'll be reviewing "Frailty" at a later date. It was another really good thriller.

Happy Halloween everyone and please feel free to share what you were watching over Halloween week as well as if you've seen any of the films I mentioned. 

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Halloween Fun, Old Hollywood Style.

I decided to get my campy Halloween post up early just in case things work out and I can get my Vampire, an Evolution up this year.

Esther Williams who looks just as fabulous in hay as she does in the water.

Ann Rutherford perched atop a lot of pumpkin pies. Get to carving Missy!

Betty Grable. With legs like that who's really going to listen to her scary story?

Eva Gabor is making me itch! Please just pose with the hay and forget getting all creative.

Ida Lupino, who wants us to believe she's frightened by a Jack-O-Lantern! She did direct thrillers after all.

Janet Leigh trying her best to frighten us before everything went all Psycho. (Sorry I couldn't resist! This is Halloween camp after all)

Muriel Evans trying her best to appear terrified by a wooden prop. Really? You couldn't throw in a black cat?

Nan Grey actually has her black cat prop but sadly I think the wonky 'stars' have thrown the whole thing off.  

Rosalind Russell is a stunner on her perfectly carved pumpkin. Sometimes the prop department really did have it the easiest!

Veronica Lake who really was our most beautiful witch.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you soon for more Halloween madness.

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